Something Better
by Omegathyst
Summary: Takes place after the first season finale of The Good Place. Eleanor keeps having dreams of a beautiful British woman and Tahani keeps remembering an unknown woman's voice. Janet still has memories of Jason despite his being erased. So how will Janet win Jason over when the tables are turned? What will Eleanor and Tahani do when they find each other?
1. Prologue: Janet's Reboot

Once Michael snapped his fingers in front of Eleanor, everybody disappeared and Janet was in his office. Michael didn't erase her husband's memories at least...right?

That's when she felt something for the second time: Panic. The first time was when Michael was planning to reboot her and she took off with Jason without reason or logic behind doing so. And now it was even worse than last time.

 _He_ _said_ _he was going_ _to_ _erase their memories and he must've. Jason..._

She felt a big jolt surge through her body and every thought disappeared suddenly and she knew that she was going to die again. She could only feel despair as she fell onto the office floor and succumbed to darkness.

* * *

Janet suddenly woke and was now wearing a green outfit with white spots and she looked at a man with glasses and white hair looking at her with uncertainty. Did he want her to say something?

"Janet, my name is Michael and I'm an architect of this Good Place." The man explained. "You were rebooted."

Janet was receiving information and when she was trying to find history of the events before she was rebooted she found nothing.

"I think my memory files have been tampered with." Janet realized.

"Well I needed to alter your memory because a lot of catastrophic stuff happened before you were rebooted." Michael explained. "So I had to delete it."

"Since when did I start feeling human emotion?" Janet asked. "I know I got that after my last reboot but I don't remember why."

"Well you aren't supposed to remember." Michael answered vaguely. "You need to be the Good Place's informational guide and unfortunately I couldn't get rid of the emotions that you acquired from your last reboot. Just be the Good Place's guide and nothing more OK?"

"Very well." Janet replied. But when Michael left leaving her alone she felt something in her mouth. She spit the ball of paper onto her hand and opened it. And read the words:

 _Eleanor- Find Chidi_

 _What_ _happened_ _before_ _I was rebooted?_

Then Janet had begun receiving new information:

 ** _Janet Generation 25 Code Z-51_**  
 ** _Status: Married to_ _Bad_ _Place_ _Resident_ _Jason_ _Medonza_**  
 ** _Number of Reboots: 3_**

 _Wait...I'm married?_

Janet started accessing her backup files and a holographic screen projected from her eyes. The screen showed a young man in a tux with the arms ripped out while wearing a hat backwards. Janet found herself smiling as she started remembering the man she loved. She then viewed even more memories with him: the two kissing, the two confessing their love.

In these memories Jason was a goof, but Janet loved it. He had a big heart, and then she saw one more memory: Michael saying that he was going to erase their memories. There was three other people that had blurred features and Janet knew that it was because Michael altered her memory. Her love for Jason had managed to make remembering him possible as every memory they shared was still in her backup files.

 _But if I'm in the Good Place, how did I marry someone from the Bad Place? And what happened that was so_ _bad_ _that Michael erased our memories?_

Then she decided that the first step to solving this would be to give this paper to Eleanor. She disappeared from Michael's office to Eleanor Shellshrop's house. The blonde woman turned around a shrieked in surprise.

"Hello, I was rebooted and I found this in my mouth." Janet explained, handing Eleanor the paper. Then she disappeared.


	2. Who is She?

**Tahani's POV**

"And then I raised several billion pounds for children with cancer! Not that my parents would care but it sure _did_ make those kids happy!"

"Mmhm." I heard my soulmate Shaun absently respond. He was an African-American construction worker that helped build _many_ buildings from elderly retirement homes to buildings for children in third-world countries! The _teensy_ little problem was he almost always answered with sounds and spoke a sentence or two at the most.

I wrapped my arms around and I expected to feel warmth, joy, and comfort. But instead I felt like I was hugging a stranger, and my first instinct was to run to Michael asking him if there was some kind of mistake made. But he told me that it could take a long time for soulmates to connect. And even though we have forever to get to know each other, we should _at least_ be conversing normally right?

 _"I think I **legit** might be into Tahani."_

"Did you hear something?" I asked Shaun. He gave a quick shake of his head and I frowned. Who was that girl? I tried to shake those thoughts away and focus on my soulmate.

 _He's so generous, but why don't I feel that connection?_

 **Eleanor's POV**

"Sorry for the wait, I'm back." My 'soulmate' apologized as he ran back in my weird Icelandic home.

"Could I please tell you something?" I begged, not wanting to keep this secret to myself any longer. We had been in this stupid loop for 3 days now of him joggingand drinking protein shakes anytime I wanted to talk with him!

"Oh shirt! I just realized-"

"What? That you shouldn't need to work out because we're in _the Good Place?"_ I snapped. "Name one thing you remember about me."

"I can't because-"

"Because you don't even listen!" I snapped. I feel bad for the sorry girl that would've became his soulmate had our places not been switched. It was so weird though, you'd think that a hot mailman would be perfect for me...

But a beautiful woman took over my thoughts instead. A tall, tan, woman with deep brown eyes and long black hair. I blushed before I realized that Chris was looking at me with a dreamy gaze.

"What?" I asked. Chris pressed his lips to mine and I pushed him away as soon as I stopped thinking of the unknown woman.

"What the hell was that for?" Chris snapped.

"I'm mad at you and you react by kissing me?!" I hissed.

"But...you had this dreamy look in your eyes. I thought-"

"That I'd find you attractive? That I'd find our _arguing_ attractive?" I continued. "No! I was thinking of someone else."

Should _not have_ said that.

"My soulmate is thinking of _someone else_?" Chris looked angry.

"Listen dude: I'm not supposed to be here." I confessed. "I've been trying to tell you that since the moment I met you. Those memories of the children that got those stuffed animals aren't my memories. I'm _not_ your soulmate. There's been a _big_ mistake."

Chris looked at me for a few moments before he broke into laughter and my anger began to boil more and more. I wanted to _punch_ him. Without lifting a finger, Chris shrieked in pain and fell onto the floor.

"Oh my god!" I gasped. "Are you OK?"

Chris groaned in pain and I heard knocking on the door.

 _"This is Michael, I heard some shrieking in there!"_

"Um, we were just having a tickle fight in here!" The hell? "We're fine!"

After some silence I assumed Michael left and I stormed off to my bed and a demonic clown song played as the doors closed around my bed. I was being selfish like when I was alive on Earth. I yelled at a man, sort of air-punched him, and then I went to my bed and left him on my floor.

Maybe that's why I remembered that beautiful woman, because she was one of my ex-girlfriends and I clung onto my memory of her. Then I realized that wasn't possible. I couldn't possibly forget someone like her if we were in a relationship. Perhaps she was another person I screwed over? Or did I see her the day I died and _that's_ why I had a vague memory of her?

I didn't have much time to think about it when I heard Chris knocking on the clown door groaning in pain. There's no way this guy is supposed to be in the Good Place! What if we're _both_ here by mistake?

"Go home Chris!" I yelled before I sandwiched my ears with pillows to block out his whining and complaining. Nothing proved to me in the past few days that _any_ of this place was good and I hoped for a sign that this Good Place is all that I hoped for.

 **Jason's POV**

"And _then_ I was responsible for the first mixed breed show dog and after I showed her, over _50 thousand_ dogs were adopted from shelters all over the country within an hour of that dog show airing."

I gave a simple nod, thankful to have a Buddhist monk cover to let me stay silent as my 'soulmate' Lillian rambled on about dogs I think? I mean she's at least ten years older than me so this is pretty weird even for me.

Suddenly a tall light-skinned woman with dark brown hair and a green outfit appeared in front of us and I smiled.

"May I talk to Jason for a second?" The woman asked.

"Oh, well you must be mistaken. This is my soulmate _Jianyu."_ Lillian gave a mean gaze. "So go away please."

The woman kept a regular smile as her eyes locked with mine and I felt like I was floating before she suddenly disappeared.

"Sorry about that. That was Janet, the artificial intelligence of the neighborhood." Lillian explained. "She's looking for a Jason but pay no mine to it. He's not anyone _you'd_ know."

I nodded but it seemed like she really didn't want me to go after this Janet. But my curiosity always got the best of me on Earth...what's the harm in following my curiosity and this mysterious woman here?


	3. Reset Faults

**Eleanor's POV**

When I woke up, I had a feeling that Chris was still outside the clown doors in the living room so I decided to climb out my window to talk to Michael about this ridiculous soulmate. I would be worried that Chris would rat me out to but based on the reaction he had last night, I'm pretty sure I had nothing to worry about.

When I climbed out my window I saw Michael walking towards my house and I approached him first.

"Hey Michael, I'm very sure that the guy you assigned as my soulmate doesn't belong here." I explained.

"Yes, that's what I came here for." Michael replied much to my surprise. He knows? "Turns out the system had slipped up on the last names of two people who died and gave me Chris Baker instead of Chris Leon and we're sending him back to the Bad Place. I'm so sorry about the trouble Eleanor."

"Oh it's no problem!" I dismissed it. "The sooner he's gone the better right?"

"Exactly! Is he still in your house?" Michael asked.

"I think so. I wouldn't know because I had to crawl out of the window." I answered. Michael gave a quick nod before he walked into my house. So I guess I should explore the neighborhood while he's cleaning the house out of my Bad Place buddy? Well, that pizza place I passed by had, like, over _5,000_ toppings to make a custom pizza so maybe I could try those! I pushed down the desire for someone else's company like I had almost my whole life. Well, all I had to do was make sure people kept on thinking I was this _amazing_ lawyer, I just hope they don't ask questions.

The beautiful tan and sadly unnamed woman took over my thoughts again and I shrugged it off. Whoever she was, she would simply stay as a person in my mind right?

 **Tahani's POV**

"Shaun, do you want to come with me to that pizza parlor with all those toppings? I mean, I think I'll just have one of their house salads but you can help yourself of course!" I asked my soulmate who was watching a game of soccer...or was it football? Americans are so nit-picky with their labels.

Shaun simply shook his head, leaving me to the devices of probably finding new people and friends on my own. I sighed.

"Alright! I'll be back in a few and I'll bring you some pizza!" I cheerfully told him with a fake smile, internally begging for him to actually get up and talk. Or even just go with me, but he didn't.

 _"Oh! You booped me!"_

There was that cute voice again, I must be going crazy.

I walked to the biggest pizza place in the neighborhood and a blonde woman was at the end of a long line, her foot tapping impatiently.

"You'd think since this is the _Good Place_ it would take less time for these dudes to make a pizza." The lady whispered to herself. Wait... _that was the voice!_

"Um, excuse me?" I asked. The blonde woman turned around and looked like she was about to speak till she froze and our eyes met. It was almost like...

 ** _Time stood still._**

 **Michael's POV**

"You idiot!" I snapped at the terrible actor before me in Eleanor's house. "I said to be perfect but slightly annoying, not slightly perfect _but_ annoying!"

"What do you expect? That bench was very annoying herself!" Chris snapped. "I'd rather be torturing girls back at Trevor's neighborhood than deal with this shirt. I'm taking the train back to his neighborhood."

Chris stormed out of the house and I never expected for faults to come up this quickly. If faults kept coming up at this pace, I couldn't possibly get these four to torture each other for one thousand years, let alone eternity. As I was contemplating on how to fix this and give Eleanor a less suspicious soulmate, Janet appeared.

"Two things. One, Eleanor and Tahani have met each other. And two, why did you program a ban from my husband's house inside my main frame?" Janet asked with a glint of anger in her eyes.

"Eleanor and Tahani weren't supposed to meet each other till several months from now!" I exclaimed. It wasn't like I could erase their memories again or else I would have to retire, and that certainly _cannot_ happen. "Janet, that man's name is Jianyu and he is a Buddhist monk that is identical in appearance to your husband. I placed a barrier to prevent you from going to his house so you would stop harassing him. So please stop doing such, we have bigger problems to tend to."

"I don't believe you." Janet narrowed her eyes. "I will be talking to Jianyu if you're so certain that he's a different person, and I'd like to see you try and stop me with that murder button of yours that I broke."

 _"What-"_ Janet disappeared before I could finish and I called her names several times and with horror I realized that she wasn't even listening to me. This wasn't an update either, it could only mean that I was dealing with _a rogue Janet._

 **Janet's POV**

I stood outside the barrier in front of Jason's house and called his name several times. I saw him crawl out of the upstairs window and fell right before I caught him in my arms.

"Oh, you're the pretty lady!" My beautiful husband looked at me curiously. He didn't remember us, but that was OK. I would just project a screen of our memories like I did when I was rebooted.

"You're Jason yes?" I asked sweetly. He didn't hesitate to nod and blow his cover. He wasn't the brightest human that I met, but that's what I love about him. I would teach him all the things I know, and he would show me the human experience and emotions that came with it. I was certain that those things made us perfect for each other.

"You don't belong here, but neither do I." I started explaining. "But I can find us a safe place away from these people trying to tear us apart, would you like that?"

He gave a swift nod and I teleported to the train with Jason still in my arms. I heard Michael shouting for Jason to _"run away from that crazy loon,"_ but he looked into my eyes like a lovesick puppy. Did he remember us, or was he falling in love with me all over again? Humans are such interesting creatures.

I gave a calm but defiant look in Michael's direction before I ran into the train and I made windows cover any possible way to get in the train and I locked the doors shut. Time to leave this Good Place...or should I say the Bad Place?


	4. New People and Places

_Flashback_

 _"Hey Dad I'm just...going into my room." Eleanor told her Dad nervously. When she looked over he was passed out on the couch reeking of cigarettes and she realized that she had nothing to fear because her parents simply didn't care. She was in her early teen years at the time and she had a secret that she kept for more than a year now._

 _Or should she say a secret **someone.**_

 _Eleanor suspected she would be there from entering her room through the unlocked window, and as she opened the door to her room she saw this secret someone on her mattress, recognizing her right away from a glimpse of her dark brown hair, mint green highlights, and her big and clumsily placed glasses on the edge of her nose. And then she took in her favorite part of this secret someone: her infectious smile._

 _"Hey Ali...sorry I took so long. Had detention again." Eleanor rolled her eyes."But you know what entertained me as I had nothing to do for those 30 minutes?"_

 _"Don't ruin the moment by saying something inappropriate Ellie." Ali narrowed her eyes but a playful smile revealed itself on the corner of her lips. Eleanor tossed her backpack away and leaped onto the mattress and crashed into Ali. She felt every positive emotion within her light up like a Christmas tree: in many colors._

 _Her bisexuality was something she had been aware of since early junior high, and she had told nobody since then except her secret lover. It was easy to keep their relationship a secret since her lover was homeschooled. Ali was the one thing that kept her selfishness in check. They cuddled up together on the mattress as reruns of_ Friends _played on her low quality TV._

 _She wasn't aware that she and Ali were running out of time. They hoped things would be perfect forever._

 ** _But they wouldn't be._**

 **Michael's POV**

 _"NO! STOP!"_ I pulled the handle on one of the train doors and I felt horror surge within my human body as the train zoomed away the moment I let go of the handle. I had to be able to torture these four humans for at least six months to avoid retirement. Of course I wanted to torture them for a thousand years, but now I didn't even have Jason, one of the people I needed for this to work.

There was no hope of going after them, Janet was a mainframe and that meant I couldn't stop her without the button. And once she and Jason leave the Good Place, there was no way of chasing after them since me and the rest of the Bad Place staff were unable to leave said place. There was only one more thing to do.

I had to contact the Tyrant.

 **Eleanor's POV**

 _"It's you!"_ Me and the mysterious woman shouted at the same time with our pointer fingers facing each other. The people around us in the pizza parlor looked at us in shock and disbelief, and several of them ran out the door. What was the big deal?

"You're the woman with the voice!" The woman exclaimed.

"And you're the woman with the..." Beautiful hair? Beautiful skin? Rockin' bod? "...um, looks."

"But how? How do we know each other?" She asked. "Do you think we crossed paths while we were alive on Earth?"

"I don't think so, I'd think I'd remember someone like..." **_You._**

"This is going to sound absurd but...do you think _we're_ soulmates?" The woman asked. "My supposed soulmate almost never talks to me...unless you're really invested in your soulmate."

"Oh no! Michael accidentally dumped a Bad Place guy on me and is changing him out for my real soulmate named Chris Leon." I explained. "But I've dated guys and girls in the past, have you?"

"Just guys, but I've found women attractive before. I've just never..." felt this way before? "I'm sorry! I didn't even introduce myself! My name's Tahani Ah-Jamil. And you are...?"

"Eleanor Shellstrop." I introduced myself to the beautiful woman that I wanted to know better. "And you make a great point about us being soulmates. I mean, why else would we have visions of each other?"

"Exactly!" Tahani agreed.

"I'll talk to Michael and maybe next thing you know...we could be living together!" I gave a genuine smile and Tahani booped me on the nose. I'll admit...I felt the spark ignite when she did that. Like it was just a _fraction_ of the amount of touching that I wanted from her. No, a _sliver._

But what would she think when she finds out that I'm from the Bad Place? Will she still like me the same or will the mutual interest that was building up fizzle out?

We both walked out of the pizza parlor in opposite directions and I saw a man with really dark skin and glasses looking lonely by himself. Normally I'd dismiss him as another person that just has to 'Suck it up, we all have problems,' but he looked really lonely. I would go as far as to say he looked sad.

So I began to walk in his direction.

 **Jason's POV**

Was this a prank show? First I have some old guy tell me I'm dead, then I'm set up with some older dog lady as my 'Soulmate,' then some pretty lady named Janet takes me in a train and we take off with no idea of where we're going. And it seemed like she wanted to be in a relationship with me.

Not that I had any complaints.

"Alright, now that I have the train set to bring us to the gated entrance to the Good Place office, let's talk!" Janet gave a very cheery smile that made me smile back just as happily. She walked to my seat in the train and sat next to me. "Do you remember me?"

I shook my head in disappointment. Janet's smile never faltered as she projected a screen from her eyes. I heard a wedding remix play as the screen went down a flight of stairs where I was dancing before I stopped and tore the arms of the tux that I was wearing. I watched the whole wedding play out:

Was I so stupid that I forgot my wedding day? But I didn't even know that I had one!

As the screen was loading more memories, Janet began explaining more things. Like that she wasn't a human at all, she was an informational system for the neighborhood that we just escaped. She told me some things that were crazy! Like that I was in the Good Place for several months before Michael took our memories when we realized that it was a Bad Place.

And now, we were heading to the real Good Place where Janet would be welcomed. And hopefully, I would be welcomed there too.

"Well Jason? Do you love me still?" Janet asked as soon as all the memories finished playing and the screen disappeared from her eyes.

"Of course!" I gave a big smile and I was unsure of my answer till Janet kissed me.

And _then_ I remembered.


	5. Two Trains, Two Destinations

**Jason's POV**

Everything from the time Janet helped move stuff into my bud-hole, the time she asked me about jalapeno poppers, up until the moments before her Dad snapped his fingers and made everyone lose their memories...came back to me the moment Janet's lips touched mine. How was that even _possible?_

 _"I remember everything!"_ I jumped back from Janet in shock, and she gave a big grin and clapped her hands together. "Woah...Janet you're back!"

I returned to my place by Janet and kissed her passionately, with her happily returning the kiss. After almost a minute, I pulled away with something else in mind.

"Now that I remember about that time I told you what jalapeno poppers are...do you think you can bring me some?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm not in my normal location so most of my normal abilities don't work here, they only work in the Bad Place neighborhood we escaped, the Good Place neighborhood that the Monarch created me in, and the Good Place headquarters." Janet explained.

"The Monarch?" I asked with curiosity.

"The Monarch is the creator of the Good Place and Earth itself." Janet answered.

"So she's basically God then!"

"If you mean in the sense that she created everything...sort of. She didn't create the Bad Place or the Janets there, her sister the Tyrant did." Janet explained. "I would show you the historical video that all Good Place citizens watch about the two sisters but I cannot access it until I reach one of the Janet hotspots I told you about."

"Wait... _there's more Janets?!"_ I gasped. "You're so amazing that I thought there would only be one of you-"

"Well, there _is_ only one Janet _Generation 25 Code Z-51."_ Janet's cheerfulness dissipated almost completely and I had no idea why until she spoke. "You're not thinking of seeing the other Janets at the Good Place are you?"

"Why would I? Like you said, there's only one you babe." I put my arm around her. "So...how long is the ride to the Good Place headquarters?"

"Even though it feels like the train is going slow, I actually set it to light-speed which is the fastest setting for this train. So we should get to the gates in five more seconds-oh! we're here." Janet smiled. I saw a beautiful light entering the windows of the train that was of a color that didn't even exist on Earth.

I've never been this amazed in my life!

 **Michael's POV**

I've never been this worried in my life!

Well, at least the hundreds of years that I've existed. I had to wait for another train to show up at the train station so I could take it to the Tyrant's lair and without a Janet, it could take centuries to get there so I asked the conductor for the most competent Bad Janet possible. One that could at least set the speed setting on the train to urgent-speed, even though I would've much preferred light-speed since the Tyrant has probably heard of this slip-up by now and is probably furious and ready to force me to retire.

While I was waiting at the train station, I saw a bunch of my colleagues desperately running towards me till all thirty-something of them stopped right in front of me.

"Guys don't worry, it's probably one of the sinkholes opening off schedule-"

"Eleanor and Tahani _met_ and _they recognized each other!"_ One of the girl colleagues shouted.

"What?! Do they know how they know they met each other?" I asked, fearing the worse.

"I don't think so, they were scrambling to figure it out when we left to tell you this." Another colleague said.

"O-okay...the train shouldn't be here for a few more hours. Glenn, go near Tahani, Eleanor, and Chidi and announce an emergency meeting at the area I played the first presentation." I ordered. "I'll be there to make sure the three of them aren't suspicious."

 **Eleanor's POV**

"Um, where's your...soulmate?" I asked awkwardly, the man looked up in surprise.

"I...she ditched me to go the mall. Yours?" He replied.

"Well get _this,_ the system messed up and gave me a Chris from the Bad Place instead of the Chris I was..." _supposed to be with, but what if all that's wrong?_ "...supposed to be with, but since I got here, I was seeing this mysterious woman that I didn't remember knowing on Earth. And then I met her just now and she remembers my voice! Do you think she seems to my soulmate more than this unknown Chris dude?"

"I...I don't know. I-I-I-"

"Oh, I rambled about myself again. I...I usually do that, you don't have to answer that." I frowned, instead of apologizing. "What is your name? I'm Eleanor Shellstrop."

"Oh, my name is-"

 _"Emergency meeting,_ everyone must meet at the presentation area!" I saw a man yelling. I saw the tall, tan, and gorgeous Tahani run past me along with everyone else to hear what had to be said. I followed her away from the unknown man I just talked to, I would have plenty of time to know his name.

 _If you can keep your identity long enough that is...wait, what if that's what this meeting is about?_

What if Michael found me out? Well...not showing up at the meeting would make it more suspicious so I have to go either way. Plus I still want to request that Tahani be my soulmate to Michael, I just hope he says yes. I showed up at the meeting location and sat on one of the end seats, only for Tahani to sit next to me. Wait, didn't she get here before me?

What if she _waited_ to find a seat till I came here? I felt shivers down my skin, what was she doing to me?

I saw a sturdy man with dark skin sit next to the lady of my dreams and I realized that he was my competition...ish. He was supposed to be universally proven to be the one for Tahani, but I always take what I want. And right now, _that was Tahani._

Michael waited a few more moments till everyone arrived before he spoke.

"I have some bad news, the Janet for this neighborhood has turned rogue and took off in a train, taking citizen Jason Mendoza with her." Michael explained. "Since the Janet that we had was a mainframe, there is no way of tracking her down. She...she left to the Bad Place."

I heard a bunch of exaggerated gasps, and I raised my hand.

"Yes, Eleanor?" Michael said.

"Well, we're in the Good Place so we'll get a new Janet immediately right?" I asked.

"Yes, they should have a Janet to provide for this neighborhood on the train that will be arriving soon." Michael answered. "I will be leaving on the train and I'll be gone for quite some time, but hopefully not too long. Since every Good Place neighborhood needs to have a specific number, I'll be finding a Good Place neighborhood with extra citizens that they want off their hands to replace Jason."

"Most neighborhoods don't need an architect to watch over them, so hopefully you will all do fine till I get back. You are all now dismissed." Michael said, I took this opportunity to get up and approach him with the one I want in mind.

"Hey Michael, y'know that soulmate Chris Leon that should be arriving here soon? Well, I was having visions of this beautiful woman that I never met on Earth and today I just met her. And she told me that she could hear my voice sometimes before she met me! Her name is Tahani Ah-Jamil and I think we're meant to be soulmates."

 **Michael's POV**

 _What?!_ Did my fingers snapping not work completely, and some of their lost memories were starting to resurface? But last time Eleanor and Tahani drove each other nuts, and they don't seem to remember that. Then I had an idea, what if I put them together and let themselves drive each other crazy while I'm gone?

"Tell you what, I will trade over Shaun and Chris to different neighborhoods and I'll let you and Tahani try to work on a soulmate relationship for _one year_ where you must _live together._ Or if my trip takes longer than a year, when I get back." I decided. "You can't back out earlier than that, so if that time passes and it didn't work out for you two, I'll get Shaun and Chris back so everything can return to the way it was."

"And if it does work out?" Eleanor asked, trying to sound confident.

"Well...then you two will be soulmates _forever_. With no changes allowed of course and no death doing you two apart." I told her. "Do you think you can handle that?"

"You kidding? I was born to handle that! Does that mean I get to live in Tahani's mansion?" Eleanor asked excitedly, I nodded. "Woo! Thank you so much Michael, you're the best!"

If I had put Tahani in Eleanor's house, I was sure they'd drive each other crazy right away. Since I was trying to go for a slow burn this time, I decided to let her be in Tahani's mansion so their intolerance of each other would grow slowly. I saw the train in the distance and knew that it was time for me to talk to the Tyrant.

I just hope that the merciless and powerful beast that was the Tyrant would spare me.


	6. Meeting the 'Soulmate'

**Michael's POV**

When I entered the train, I saw a face that I didn't think I'd see again: _Shaun._

"So good to see you again during your latest failure." Shaun said mockingly. "Wonder if the Tyrant's thinking that she made a mistake promoting you to architect. She's probably livid."

"Did you bring the Janets? One to conduct the train and one to serve my neighborhood while I'm gone?" I asked, not looking forward to having Shaun talking my ears off about my latest mistake.

"I did, I bribed this Bad Janet here with Playboy magazines so she can get the train to move at light-speed." Shaun replied. "The Tyrant had to trade over two Bad Place neighborhoods to the Monarch to get another Good Place Janet, so she's even more furious cause of that."

I said nothing, trying my best to hide my fear. The Tyrant and the Monarch were almost equally powerful, so if the Tyrant needed something from the Monarch, they would have to trade and vice versa. While the Monarch never traded away her people to the Bad Place, the Tyrant constantly had to trade away people who deserved to be the Bad Place to the Good Place to get anything from the Monarch.

And one thing most of us knew was how much the Tyrant _hated_ to give people over to the Good Place.

 _I'd_ _be_ _lucky if she only_ _tortured_ _me for several centuries,_ ** _she's_ _probably_ _fuming._**

"Alright Janet _Generation 25 Code X-72,_ your job is to tend to the people in this Bad Place neighborhood." I explained to the Janet with a pink flower in her hair and a long sky blue dress. "You will be installing this restrictions chip into your system before you do so."

I gave the chip and the Janet absorbed it into her physical form. It was the same chip I used on the previous Janet before she went crazy and took off with Jason, which I used to make sure she didn't reveal that the Bad Place she was in wasn't the Good Place. It also restricted her from revealing any information about the Bad Place, the Monarch, the Tyrant, or any other Good Place neighborhood.

In short, she was only allowed to talk about the 'Good Place' neighborhood she was in, Earth, and the lives on Earth. Janet X took a few seconds to absorb the chip and she gave me a nod before walking off the train and in the direction of the neighborhood.

 **Eleanor's POV**

"Haha! _Eat_ _it_ _Shaun!"_ I laughed, pointing both fingers at Shaun tauntingly. The big and bulky man narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing as he turned around and walked away. Who cares about how _he_ feels, I _got the girl!_ Woohoo!

"Well that's a little much don't ya think?" I heard Tahani point out gently. My heart skipped a beat out of nervousness.

"Perhaps...sorry. I really didn't think _this_ would happen." I put my hands on Tahani's shoulders. "Michael said that we could be soulmates!"

"Oh that's simply _wonderful!"_ Tahani's eyes brightened. "I can get to know somebody that can actually _communicate_ with me. We can go back to my mansion and the new Janet can serve us some food and tea!"

Tahani took my hand and led me back to the mansion, and I was nervous. After all she probably expected me to talk about my whole life, and I couldn't lie to her.

"New Janet?" Tahani called as soon as the two of us entered her mansion. A Janet with a long sky blue dress and a pink flower in her hair appeared, bearing a cheery smile. "Could you get us some finger sandwiches and tea? Any preference on the kind of sandwich darling?"

Don't finger sandwiches usually have cucumbers in them? A plate of shrimp or almost anything else sounded more appealing to me, but I wanted to be on Tahani's good side for when I tell her that I'm not supposed to be here.

"You've been chosen to be in the Good Place darling, you deserve to ask for _whatever_ your heart desires." Tahani told me when I fell silent. Well, I was chosen on accident.

"I...I have something to tell you and I want you to stay calm when I tell you. I'm not who everyone... _thinks_ I am." I started explaining. "But we're gonna need something stronger than tea for this. Janet, could you instead bring us a few bottles of wine and a huge bowl of shrimp?"

Before Tahani could protest, Janet disappeared and I sat down with Tahani on one of her luxurious couches. A huge wave of guilt crashed over me, what if Tahani didn't want to be my soulmate anymore? Would Michael's deal still stand when he finds out that I'm supposed to be in the Bad Place? Or will he just toss me in the Bad Place, leaving Tahani alone...or even worse, with that silent guy that isn't right for her?

I'm a bad person.

Janet came back with a bowl of shrimp that was almost as big as the table, six bottles of wine, and two glasses. I poured the wine into the glasses and after we finished our first glasses, I finally broke the silence.

"I'm not the lawyer that was supposed to be here." I confessed, my heart pounding inside of my chest. "My name is Eleanor Shellstrop, but I was a person who...sold fake medicine to the elderly for a living."

 **Jason's POV**

Janet took my hand as we walked out of the train, the first thing I saw was a futuristic glass building with many tubes connected to it. The blue skies reflected off the glass and a beautiful meadow was in front of the building.

"This is the dopest place I've ever seen!" I exclaimed. "Is this the Good Place headquarters?"

"Yep! The first floor that we'll see when we walk in is the Janet Lounge where all the Good Place Janets go whenever they aren't assisting residents." I thought that I could see a twinkle of fondness as if Janet was looking back on memories.

I held her hand as we both walked into the beautiful lounge full of different Janets including an Eskimo Janet, a safari explorer Janet, a librarian Janet, a maid Janet, and hundreds more ranging from the simplest of outfits to extravagant in ways Earth couldn't understand. Most of them were talking to each other when we walked in and they turned around and stared at us.

Finally, an eager Janet in a purple suit with golden buttons and her hair done in a bun teleported in front of us.

"I don't think I recognize you in the Good Place Janet System, are you just another Bad Janet in disguise?" The Janet in the purple suit asked.

"No, the Monarch traded me several months ago. I'm _Janet Generation 25 Code Z-51_ remember?" Janet looked slightly hurt. How could these Janets forget someone as awesome as my wife so quickly? "She must have removed my code from the system after I was traded away."

"What brings you here?"

"I need to speak with the Monarch." Janet said.

"Very well, I will contact the Monarch's Janet and see when she is available. She might have an appointment time available sometime in this millennium." The Janet in the purple suit opened her mouth and contacted the Janet. "Hello, _Janet Generation 25 Code Z-51_ would like to speak with the Monarch...anytime is good...yes, that'll be great, thank you."

"The Monarch's Janet says that the Monarch will be available to speak with you in two hours." The Janet in the purple suit announced. "Until then, would you two like to join me and the other Janets? We're playing Monopoly."

"Sure!" I decided, knowing I'd lose. The Janets are the smartest girls in the universe, and I was just a human who died in a safe. But at least I'd have fun until we talk to this goddess lady right?


	7. The Balance of Good and Bad Part 1

**Michael's POV**

Shaun was technically my boss, but the Tyrant is the leader of every staff member and resident of the Bad Place and it's neighborhoods. Unfortunately the light-speed setting on the train made the trip only take thirty seconds. Before Shaun could say a smart remark, we were already in the burning hot lair of the Tyrant. Her home looks exactly how you'd expect it to look: an unfriendly dark rocky floor pathway leading to a big clearing, each side of the pathway and clearing was a steep fall into a pool of red lava, which was 1,000 times even hotter than the lava on Earth.

"The Tyrant's not stupid; she does know that all these events are your fault." Shaun pointed out. "With that said, you'll be going out there by yourself. Have fun."

I considered giving him a certain gesture, but if I was late for my meeting with the Tyrant, I would be in a world of hurt bigger than the one I was already expecting. I exited the train and walked as quickly as I could to the clearing, waiting for my ferocious leader to emerge from the lava. The minutes of silence passed by made me feel even more nervous, and I suspected that the Tyrant knew I was here, and that she was biding her time in order to make me feel worse than I already was.

Suddenly the earth began to shake so violently that I almost fell off the clearing. When the entire area that was bright thanks to the red lava suddenly turned pitch black, I looked away in fear.

 _"LOOK AT ME!"_ I heard the Tyrant's chaotic screech shake the entire room. I'd never been more afraid in that moment and I quickly looked at the Tyrant.

She certainly wasn't human, and she didn't even bother to take a human form. Her true form was a humongous body of shadows that could morph into any body type, but her head always stayed the same: a cow skull with long black horns and red piercing irises showing from the eye holes. I shrieked when the Tyrant slammed a shadowy claw on the clearing.

"I know Shaun too well to believe that the _incompetent_ mistakes happening in his sector were his fault." The Tyrant began speaking. "The Janet that costed so much escaped the Bad Place with a resident under _your_ watch, and I had to give the Monarch _so many people to get a new one!"_

"I k-know, and I'm so sorry." I began begging for my life in front of the Tyrant, but her face couldn't show emotion. Only her voice could.

"Shaun said that if this fails again, _you_ _are done._ And you failed!" The Tyrant picked me up and held me in her shadowy hand inches from her skull face.

"Wait! I know how I can fix this! Jason Mendoza is easily changeable, so I can just choose another person to replace him!" I suggested.

 _"Who?"_ The Tyrant demanded. "You have ten seconds before I throw you in eternal torture you pathetic defect."

"Um..." I remembered Eleanor and Tahani's growing relationship and briefly considered bringing Tahani's sister into the mix...but that would only torture Tahani. _Wait,_ maybe there was someone that just might be perfect for the role!

"Oh, Ali Diaz!" I told the Tyrant. "In Eleanor's history it said that she was her first girlfriend before she died of an accident that she blames Eleanor for to this day. Eleanor and Tahani are dating right now so I'm positive she could pull them apart!"

"Huh, maybe you're not so incompetent after all. That's _not_ a compliment though, believe me." The Tyrant spat, dropping me back onto the clearing. "I will go get Ali from Neighborhood 66669B and we'll see what use she could be."

"Thanks for your mercy my powerful goddess." I bowed to the Tyrant before she scoffed and disappeared into the lava. A few moments later, the Tyrant reemerged with the shivering and sobbing teenage girl. It was clear that Ali was in the middle of being tortured as one of her lenses was broken and she was covered in mud, bugs, bruises, and blisters. I looked at her back where a bunch of syringe needles were stuck in and the Tyrant looked at the broken girl.

The Tyrant snapped her fingers, and all of Ali's injuries and dirtiness was gone. Ali gave a huge gasp for air, enjoying every second of being clean. In Ali's history, it was very clear that she had many disorders and issues that we used to torture her even more.

"What can I help you two with?" Ali asked, clearly grateful to not be dirty and covered in needles.

"My architect Michael here needs one more person for his Bad Place neighborhood and after some thought, we thought you'd be perfect for the role." The Tyrant explained. "The neighborhood only consists of three people that believe that they are in the Good Place: Chidi, Tahani Al-Jamil, and _Eleanor Shellstrop."_

Ali's eyes darkened as she bared her teeth.

"And do I get to make Eleanor _suffer?"_ Ali growled, resentment clearly still there after many years.

"Yes, you do. And the thing is, _they_ think they're in the Good Place, secretly torturing each other all the while." I explained to the bitter teenage girl. "The longer you can help keep up the charade, the longer you can live day by day not being tortured."

As if this tormented girl needed anymore motivation to get back at her ex.

"...really?" Ali whispered. I nodded and pointed to the traintracks.

"If you want to be that fourth person, just let me know and the Tyrant can send a train to take us there in an instant." I told her. Ali nodded her head vigorously.

"Nice! This was..." _too easy._ "...um, great progress. I guess we should go now-"

"Before you two leave, let me remind you that your soul will get torn apart and every part of your pathetic soul will suffer for all of your eternity if you fail me again! _Understood?"_ The Tyrant brought her face closer to me, her bright red irises staring at me intensely.

 _"Absolutely!"_ I saluted to my leader as I heard the train arrive. I gestured to Ali and she sprung to life, following me.

 **Eleanor's POV**

Tahani blinked many times, taking in what I had just said. I expected her to be angry or at least upset, but instead she looked extremely puzzled.

"I don't understand." You and me both miss. "I've heard your voice and you've had visions of me, and this was all before we even _met_ each other. Why would that be possible if we weren't meant to be? I certainly wasn't meant to be with that man that was supposedly 'universally approved.'"

"That's true...well I'm stumped then." I sighed. "After all, I'm not a wonderful person. I put down so many people, and throughout my life I've only really cared about myself."

"Well...despite your flaws, I believe our connection has to mean _something."_ Tahani insisted, despite me implying that I was taking someone else's spot in the Good Place. "But I'm sure that we've never met before the time in the pizza place..."

 _"We should kiss."_

"What?" Tahani asked as I slapped my hands over my mouth.

"Um, I s-said that because I thought we could find out if our connection is romantic. That's what I thought it was at first." I suggested.

"Well...alright. I did _also_ think our connection is-"

I pressed my lips against Tahani's, and almost collapsed when I was exposed to hundreds of memories that I didn't know I lost. That man I met outside the pizza place was my former teacher Chidi, and me and Tahani bickered from time to time, and Janet stole Jason because they're _married!_ And she was saving him from this awful _place...the Bad Place._

Tahani's eyes widened and she pulled away the kiss.

"We need to find Chidi!" My heart dropped as I realized that Tahani regained her memories, and probably regained her love towards Chidi.

"Why? Because you remembered that you love him?" The words slipped out of my mouth more bitterly than I expected. Tahani looked at me in shock.

"N-no, because he's the other part of this messed up torture experiment." Tahani responded awkwardly. "Would you prefer if he kept living in this miserable lie?"

"No." I admitted. Even if Tahani loves Chidi, that didn't change the fact that I believed that Chidi didn't deserve to suffer. And screw the Bad Place, _I_ still thought that he was an amazing person.

Me and Tahani took off to find our dorky friend, even though we had no idea what we were going to do next.

 **Jason's POV**

"Well, I have only $2 to my name. Kinda like I did while I was alive."

I gave the Janet in the maid outfit $120 dollars for coming across a set of her houses on the Monopoly. At least I didn't land on the purple suit Janet's _hotel on Boardwalk_. Thanks to her hotel, five of the Janets already lost, leaving us with my wife and librarian Janet as the only other players in the game.

Fortunately librarian Janet landed on my two houses on Baltic Avenue and she gave me $60. However as luck would have it, I landed on Boardwalk. Librarian Janet landed on Boardwalk and went bankrupt as well a few turns later. My wife and purple suit Janet were left.

My wife had _Park Place_ however, and purple suit Janet landed on that. After a heated battle to see who would last the longest, the purple suit Janet won all the properties to no one's surprise.

"That game is rigged, even here." I told my wife. Janet seemed too happy holding me in her lap and playing with my hair to be thinking about the game we were playing. After a few minutes, a Janet with a rosy pink dress with a white bow in the center, lavender hair, and a red flower approached us.

"Hello, I am _Janet Generation 25 Code A-0_ , Janet of the high and mighty Monarch herself. She is ready to see you two now." The Monarch's Janet lead us across the Janet Lounge till the three of us entered a glass elevator decorated with gems. The elevator went up at a really fast pace and we were in a beautiful garden after several seconds.

The elevator doors opened and the Monarch's Janet lead us through the beautiful garden full of plants that I've never seen before.

"The Monarch absolutely loves life, and her zoo is only one floor below." The Monarch's Janet explained. I had to remember to visit that zoo after all this chaos was over. We continued walking through the different kinds of flowers till we stopped at a tall figure sitting on a throne, hidden in a golden cloak.

 _"Janet_ _Generation 25 Code_ _Z_ _-51_ and Bad Place resident Jason Mendoza are here my clarity." The Monarch's Janet spoke to the tall figure.

"So they are..." The Monarch tossed the golden cloak off of herself and I was in awe. The Monarch was a tall lavender-skinned woman with long silky white hair, red shoes, a white robe, big pink eyes, a set of antennae, and six thin, long, golden, and white wings on on her back.

"Oh, it _is_ a real Good Place Janet. What brings you two here? If my vengeful sister wanted to talk to me, couldn't she just send her Bad Place demons?" The Monarch asked.

"We weren't sent here my goddess, we escaped on a train after the demon Michael erased my husband's memories-" Janet gestured to me. "-as well as the memories of his friends in an experiment to emotionally torture and manipulate them for 1,000 years."

 _"...are_ _you_ ** _serious?"_** The Monarch revealed her set of razor-sharp teeth as she got up from her throne. "I want to see a projection screen of these events from your memory chip."

Janet showed that same projection that she used to help me remember our relationship and we stood there for a long time. It took so long that I sat down and asked the Monarch's Janet for Stupid Nick's wings. She disappeared and returned only moments later!

I was halfway through eating my favorite food when I saw the projection disappear from my wife's eyes and I heard the ground shake right after. I saw the Monarch get up, towering over all of us.

"My Janet, _summon_ a train set to light-speed to Bad Place neighborhood 12358W." The Monarch ordered. "I'm going to save those poor three souls and confront my sister about this."

"Of course my goddess." The Monarch's Janet disappeared.

 **Michael's POV**

After the train made it back to my neighborhood, me and Ali went to the Good Plates to talk about what I planned for her. Although it wasn't easy for her to pay attention, given that she was scarfing down the first fresh plate of food that she's probably seen in years. But to no surprise, she listened to every single time I mentioned torturing Eleanor.

"Well, I don't have your file yet. But I know that you two dated before, so why you hate her so much?" I asked, secretly eager to bring out the hate boiling inside her.

"She cared so much about herself that she didn't save me... ** _she's_ _the_ _reason I died."_** Ali growled. "It started when-"

 _"MICHAEL!_ _It's_ _the Monarch!"_

"What?!" I shouted. "S-stay put Ali, I need to make sure she doesn't ruin everything."

 **Ali's POV**

That dimwitted demon took off, expecting me to be a good girl and to stay put. But _screw him!_ I didn't let my soul get torn apart over and over again just to delay this moment any longer.

 ** _It was time for Eleanor Shellstrop to pay for breaking my_ _heart_ _and letting me die_**


	8. The Balance of Good and Bad Part 2

_Flashback_

 _"Pleeeeease Ali?_ _It's_ _prom! Everyone's_ _going_ _to be there,_ _and_ _they'll_ _make_ _fun of_ _me_ _if_ _I_ _go_ _alone or_ _not_ _at all. Plus,_ _I_ _know we'd_ _both_ _make beautiful Prom Queens."_

 _Ali stood there nervously, not_ _fond_ _of_ _such_ _extravagant social settings. She did love dancing_ _and_ _showing her_ _love_ _to her girlfriend, but in front of hundreds of strangers? Especially when_ _she's_ _never_ _gone to a party before?_

 _"I might freak_ _out_ _Ellie,_ _I've_ _never done something like this before..." Ali replied. "Besides, does it have to be me?_ _It's_ _not like_ _I'm_ _Miss_ _Popular,_ _I_ _don't_ _even go to a public school!"_

 _"_ _You'll_ _be_ _more interesting when they have no idea_ _where_ _you're from. You'll be a_ _mystery_ _that'll_ _poke_ _at their curiosity."_ _Eleanor_ _pointed out. "A mysterious person is always_ _more_ _interesting_ _then a popular person...to me anyway."_

 _"...okay._ _I_ _guess_ _I_ _could leap out of my window again._ _I'll_ _give you money to buy my dress and_ _whatever_ _else you_ _want_ _me to wear."_ _Ali_ _gave a small smile, not feeling any_ _better_ _about the situation. After all, her girlfriend never_ _pressured_ _her_ _to_ _do_ _anything_ _before. So why was_ _this_ _different?_

 _Several weeks later, Eleanor_ _and_ _Ali were at the city's_ _art_ _museum. The_ _former_ _was_ _wearing_ _a light_ _orange_ _dress_ _with_ _red streaks_ _and_ _yellow specks, a design_ _inspired_ _by the sun while her nervous girlfriend was_ _wearing_ _a dark blue_ _dress_ _with_ _white specks and a purple lining at_ _the_ _bottom, a design inspired by the moon._

 _When they_ _walked_ _in the museum,_ _they_ _were_ _exposed to overwhelmingly loud music and_ _hundreds_ _of dancing students. A few glanced_ _over_ _at the newcomers,_ _but_ _then they went_ _back_ _to their own devices._

 _Ali_ _felt_ _smaller than ever before, and_ _she realized that she_ _needed_ _to_ _go outside._ _Out_ _of_ _all the_ _people_ _her age that she met,_ _Eleanor_ _was only one that grew to love her._ _What_ _about these people? They were probably_ _no_ _better than the bullies_ _that_ _made her decide_ _that_ _public school_ _wasn't_ _for her._

 _"I...need to g-go."_ _Ali_ _took_ _off, but Eleanor_ _followed_ _her._ _Ali_ _didn't_ _notice her girlfriend following her into the parking lot,_ ** _nor did she notice the_ _reckless_ _car blazing towards her._**

 _However, Eleanor_ _noticed_ _and stopped following Ali, caring for_ _her_ _own life over her girlfriend's. Ali briefly_ _saw_ _the car's_ _headlights_ _and_ _glanced_ _at_ _Eleanor,_ _pain_ _and betrayal in her eyes..._

 _Less than a_ _second_ _later, the car_ _slammed_ _mercilessly_ _into_ _Ali,_ _sending_ _her body_ _flying_ _and_ _landing on the pavement_ _right_ _beside Eleanor._

 **Present day, Ali's POV**

When I was in the train with Michael, he had lent me several powers to help me torture Eleanor. And now that he had stupidly left me to my own devices, it was time to try out those powers. No 'Monarch' would stop me.

My body dissolved into a shadow on the ground as I slithered out of the Good Plates and past Michael and whoever the hell that big purple woman was. Maybe I can hit on her after I burn that 'Tahani' into ashes in front of Eleanor.

I slithered further in the neighborhood until I saw a tall skyscraper of a woman with black hair, a man with dark skin and glasses, and a blonde woman that I recognized after all these years.

 _Eleanor_ _Shellstrop_

I allowed the memories of the car driving towards me with Eleanor doing nothing to take over, fueling my hate and causing spheres of fire to grow in my hands. Unfortunately, the moment I threw the fire at the three of them, Eleanor glanced over and shouted in alarm.

They all leaped out of the way, causing the two fireballs to hit a building behind them. I saw the tall woman clinging onto Eleanor and decided to go in for the kill.

 **Eleanor's POV**

 _"Chidi!"_ I screamed as he disappeared when the fireballs zoomed past us, only to see him against the building wall across from us. I sighed with relief, where did that fire even come from anyway? I looked in the direction of the fire, and my heart dropped.

 ** _Oh no_** _...of_ course _she's here..._

 _"Tahani, run!"_ I cried, pushing the woman I loved away from me. Tahani's eyes widened as she scrambled up to her feet and took off in a mad sprint. My vengeful ex disappeared into the ground and I saw a shadow zip past me and Chidi. What the fork?!

 _"You stay away from her!"_ I screamed, running after the shadow hopelessly. The shadow caught up to Tahani and turned back into my ex. She grabbed Tahani by the throat and held a fireball in her right hand.

"Any last words before I-" And like so many years ago, a force sent Ali flying onto the pavement. Tahani fell back and I saw the thing that kicked Ali was a gigantic red heel attached to a purple woman that was taller than any of the buildings.

 _"Are you three OK?"_ The tall purple woman crouched down to face me and...was that Janet and Jason on her shoulder?! The two of them waved eagerly and I was stunned by everything that was happening.

"Y-yeah, I think so." I whispered, eyeing the limp body of the girl that I loved so many years ago.

"Good, I'm bringing the three of you back to the real Good Place where you all belong." The purple woman reassured me. "I'm-"

"Wait, could you bring her too?" I pointed to Ali. "I am the reason she's dead and suffering, so I believe that she deserves mercy."

"O-okay." The purple woman stammered in disbelief. She reached her graceful hands to pick the four of us from this hellhole...only for a beam of shadow-black fire to hit the purple woman in the back, sending her falling to the ground with a sharp thud.

I heard Tahani scream as a huge shadowy beast with a cow skull for a head towered over the purple woman. A shadowy tentacle sprung from the beast's side and it wrapped itself around the purple woman's throat. Janet and Jason leaped off her shoulder and landed safely next to us.

"Who _are_ these two?" I asked Janet.

"That woman we came is the Monarch, creator of the Good Place and co-creator of Earth." Janet explained. "And that shadowy monster is her sister the Tyrant, creator of the Bad Place and the other co-creator of Earth."

"The hell?! Why are they fighting over us?" I demanded to know. Janet didn't directly respond, instead she created a forcefield around the five of us.

I saw the Monarch get up, standing at equal height with her evil sister.

"What did I tell you about emotional torture?!" The Monarch snarled.

"To not do it? What fun is there in that? Besides, you can blame Michael for that idea. Or I guess you _could've,_ since I forced him to retire for eternity. That's what he gets for being so incompetent." The Tyrant rambled with a glint in her red irises.

"I will be taking these four humans and this Janet to the Good Place, and you will _never_ allow something like this to happen again." The Monarch snapped. "I don't know what happened to you. Millions of years ago, you didn't look like this, nor did you even _want_ to be in charge of the Bad Place. But somebody needed to be to keep the worst people out of the Good Place: murderers, rapists, and many kinds of evil people..."

"But that wasn't enough for you after a while, you decided to create the point system so almost nobody could get in the Good Place. And I made the mistake of letting you because I didn't want to fight you, for I could lose." The Monarch added, a ball of white light forming in her hands. "But I'm done with this. The people who should be in the Good Place are _coming with me!"_

The Monarch shot the ball of light at her sister, and she stumbled back with a roar of pain.

"There's no way that you'll win when you're in _my territory!"_ The Tyrant snarled, eight tentacles springing from her body and wrapping themselves around the Monarch's arms. The Monarch gave a startled cry and she shot a beam of white light from her mouth, hitting the Tyrant right in her skull face.

A piece of debri destroyed Janet's forcefield, and the four of us ran into a building that was now in ruins. Janet stood in front of Jason protectively, Chidi crawled under one of the tables in a panic, and Tahani leaned on my shoulder with a tight grip on my arm.

For me, time had never moved slower. The battle seemed to drag on forever, with both sisters wearing out. However, the Tyrant used a humongous tentacle to slam her sister onto the ground.

 _"This...battle..._ ** _will end!"_** The Tyrant screamed in frustration. "Even if I have to use my life force to do it!"

 _ **"You wouldn't."** _ The Monarch spat. "You'll be permanently weakened!"

"Maybe so, but you're in an even weaker state. If I use my strongest attack, _you'll never_ _be_ _able to challenge me again."_ The Tyrant growled with excitement. **_"I WILL HAVE IT ALL!"_**

My hope withered when I saw a tear roll down the purple goddess' cheek. The Tyrant's head started glowing a fiery orange as she prepared her final attack while the Monarch was struggling to get up. This was it...we were destined to be tortured forever... _unless-_

"Tahani, take care of everyone for me. I love you." I pressed my lips against the woman I loved so much, opening my eyes to see her eyes full of confusion.

"Eleanor, what're you-"

I ran out of the building, hoping that my timing would be right. I saw the Tyrant shoot the ferocious lava-read beam at her sister, and I leaped in front of her.

The Tyrant's irises grew in shock and she gave a muffled sound of shock, but nothing could prepare me for how much the beam would hurt.

 **Tahani's POV**

 ** _"ELEANOR!"_** I screeched when I saw her take the blow instead of the Monarch, the purple goddess rolling out of the way and still struggling to get up. I saw Eleanor briefly glance at me as her body began to fall apart. Moments after the Monarch finally got to her feet, Eleanor's body disappeared and the Tyrant collapsed, her life force spent.

 _"NO!"_ I cried, running over the broken glass and debri to get to the pile of ashes that was once my sweet Ellie-nor. "No, Eleanor, _d-don't leave me. I_ _love_ _you_ _too!"_

I laid my head beside the pile of ashes and continued sobbing, not even stopping when Chidi put his hand on my shoulder. Instead of comforting me or saying anything else, I heard Chidi cry as well. And that seemed to be what would help me: someone who didn't pretend that everything was going to be okay.

Jason and Janet approached the ash pile briefly, and the two of them gave a respective bow before walking towards the Monarch. I knew that they took off because they weren't close to Eleanor, but it angered me anyway.

What upsetted me even more was that stupid purple woman that Eleanor sacrificed herself for. I don't _care_ if she created almost everything, she should've fought harder! Maybe if she did, Eleanor wouldn't be dead.

"Eleanor Shellstrop has done the most selfless act: sacrificing herself for the good of the universe. Now that my sister is permanently weakened, I can finally bring every decent and good person into the Good Place." I heard the Monarch say with glee. "Janet? Go to my Janet in the train and tell her that we need to begin construction for 10,000 neighborhoods. A message needs to be sent to the architects, and we need to transfer several million people to the Good Place Dome where they can stay until the neighborhoods are complete!"

"Yes my goddess, I'll be back my love." Janet gave her husband a passionate kiss, the kind that showed how happy she was being able to spend the rest of eternity with her husband in peace. After several seconds, Janet pulled away and disappeared with a wink.

"Yay! I get to be with my wife forever!" Jason rejoiced, running around the destroyed neighborhood. I looked at the Monarch with pure bitterness and resentment.

"Why're _you_ so happy?" I growled, my voice dripping with poison. "Does the fact that my love is dead because of your _stupid_ _feud_ not mean anything to you?"

"Your what?" The Monarch's eyes widened. "Sweetie-"

 _"_ _Don't_ _call me that you bench."_

"Eleanor Shellstrop isn't dead, human." The Monarch narrowed her pink eyes at me. "You can't die in the afterlife. Her physical form simply turned into ash while her soul broke into billions of molecules scattered into the universe's spaceflow."

"So will she ever come back?" I asked.

"Not on her own, I will have to send a bunch of Janets to collect the molecules...but they'll need a physical form to take, preferably a statue." The Monarch frowned. "If you need it to look like Eleanor, I'm afraid I can't do that. I don't even remember what she looks like. That task will have to be done with someone who's spent a lot of time with her recently."

 _"Me..."_ I realized that _I_ would be the one to build an exact replica of Eleanor Shellstrop, the woman I love. And maybe get some help from Chidi, another person who remembered her well.

I looked at the pile of ash and felt a rush of determination wash over me. The Monarch reached her hands out and me and Chidi jumped on. Jason threw Ali's body over his shoulder and jumped onto the Monarch's empty hand. I could not understand why Eleanor wanted to spare her, but she asked for Ali's mercy before her soul was broken. So I didn't say anything.

My biggest priority was bringing the love of my life back.

 **Five years later**

"You did a wonderful job Tahani."

"Thank you, for the compliment and for your help." I said to Chidi as we looked at the almost exact replica of Eleanor Shellstrop standing in the cerculan Good Observatory in our new neighborhood: Neighborhood Five-Stars.

Almost all of the other Good Place neighborhoods had mixtures of numbers and letters for names, but this neighborhood was specially made for as the Monarch put it: "the Universe Savior's loved ones and their friends."

Of course by Universe Savior, the Monarch was referring to Eleanor. Neighborhood Five-Stars was a beautiful and non-cryptic paradise that only consisted of me, Chidi, Janet, Jason, Ali, and some of our close friends.

After looking over Ali's file, the Monarch decided that Ali fell under this category and placed her in this neighborhood. I was worried that even without demon powers, Ali was going to have her revenge. But when the Monarch allowed her to bring three people she met at the Good Place Dome named Kate, Gwyn, and Randi to Neighborhood Five-Stars, Ali seemed to lose her vengeful attitude and was content. Was that really all she needed? Friends?

I saw Janet appear, with her little half-human-half-A.I. daughter holding her hand. Of course, Janet and Jason's ten hybrid children also inhabited our lovely neighborhood and wrecked havoc wherever they went. Sounds like Jason's children alright.

"The Monarch has arrived with the jar of every one of Eleanor's molecules." Janet announced. Could this be it, I get to be reunited with my Eleanor?

I saw the Monarch approaching the observatory, tall enough to be standing over us in the balcony. I saw the big jar of light blue molecules moving wildly like a tornado.

"The molecules don't respond well to being trapped in a tight space." The Monarch explained. "I'm going to open the jar and all of them should go into the statue and hopefully it'll come to life."

"Ariana? Could you bring your Dad here so he could see Eleanor?" Janet asked her daughter that may or may not have been named after a certain celebrity. The girl nodded and disappeared.

The Monarch gave a warm smile as she opened the jar, releasing the billions of molecules into the air. They floated briefly and peacefully, before they flew to the statue all at once, determined to enter its new host. Once they all entered the statue, it started glowing. A meadow green mist surrounded the statue and a person appeared from the mist: _Eleanor Shellstrop._

I put my hands over my mouth in pleasant surprise before I ran to my sweet and now selfless Ellie-nor. I held her in a tight grip, never wanting to let her go.

" _My_ _beautiful_ _star in the world's dreary darkness."_ I whispered. "I never want you to leave me ever again."

"I won't." Eleanor promised, then she turned to the Monarch so she could explain everything that's happened in the past five years.

What neither of them knew was that Chidi tried to engage in a romantic relationship with me during my time of sadness and loneliness, but I couldn't. No matter how much time passed, I could never stop loving Eleanor. Even when we had lost our memories, we still found our way back to each other.

However, the Monarch found out that we regained our memories because we kissed our true love. And the only reason Chidi didn't regain his memories on his own was because his true love wasn't in the Bad Place neighborhood that we were stuck in.

Jason climbed up the stairs to meet us at the Good Observatory's balcony with five of his children following him. One with short brown hair attempted to leap at Eleanor, but Jason caught him in time.

"No jumping at people you don't know, Bacon." Jason lightly scolded his son.

"Bacon?" Eleanor said in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Jason gave an ecstatic smile. "These are my children with Janet! There's Ariana, Bacon, Whippet, Grande, Dope, Pillboy Jr., Boirrito, BBQ, Janet Jr., and Stupid Nick!"

"Um, _wow."_ Eleanor responded at the stupidity of almost all of those names. "Do they age? Who was pregnant, you or Janet? Or neither? Were they brought by a stork-"

"Actually, the Monarch took my DNA and Jason's and gave us the amount of children we wanted: ten! And yes, they age until they reach 25 years old." Janet smiled. "They were all created at the same so they're all the same age."

"So are we allowed to have children in the Good Place?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, sort of." The Monarch replied with a smile. "I placed several new laws for the Good Place as well as an updated point system. Only residents of Neighborhood Five-Stars are allowed to send requests to me to make children from their DNA."

"Hm, I'll have to keep that in mind." Eleanor glanced at me.

"Eleanor Shellstrop, out of everyone in existence, you have the highest point total for your sacrifice: **_infinity."_** The Monarch told Eleanor. "You could do whatever you like. Whatever you want, me or a Janet will bring you it."

"Wow, um, let me think." Eleanor pondered before she turned to me, Chidi, Jason, and Janet. "What would you guys like to do?"

 **Eleanor's POV**

"Look Dad! It's a monkey!"

One of Jason's children ran past us in the Monarch's Zoo, the place that Jason and Janet suggested we go to first. Jason and Janet allowed their ten children to run wherever they wanted to, Chidi was looking at the weirdly-colored purple sloths with a content smile on his smile, and Tahani was by my side as we walked down the pathway looking left and right at the various animals...is that a dragon?!

I looked at the big exhibit full of small and lanky dragons of many different colors and smiled. After going to the Zoo, we were going to head back to our neighborhood where my...Tahani would take me on a tour of the neighborhood made in my honor. Were we girlfriends? Soulmates? Lovers? What would we even call ourselves?

"Hey Tahani?" I asked. "We haven't been able to speak to each other for...five years I believe you told me? My soul was always being tortured because it was split into several billion molecules, but now after all this mess, I'm wondering what's in store for us."

"Well, I want to love you for all of eternity Eleanor, but we can date for now if that's what you think is appropriate." Tahani answered. And just dating for now seemed to be the right way to go. After all, we only knew each other for a few months. Hell, I'm surprised that our feelings endured five years of being apart. What if those feelings died?

I decided to find out for myself and I pressed my lips against Tahani's, feeling more spark and desire than I did all those years ago when we became 'soulmates.' When I pulled away, I saw Jason and Janet playfully chasing their children across the pathway. When I looked at Chidi's slightly sad smile, I took a mental note to ask the Monarch later if she could find Chidi a girl that he'd be really compatible with.

We returned to my new neighborhood hours later where I saw Ali with dragon wings on her back, one of her friends had crow wings on her back, another with bighorn sheep horns on her head, and the third friend had a cat tail and ears. The four of them were playing with each other and their weird animal features and were having so much fun that my ex barely noticed me. I gave a sigh of relief, hoping that we could become friends again in the future.

At the end of the day, me and my new girlfriend went back to the Good Observatory to look up at the stars. I remembered when Tahani called me her beautiful star in the world's darkness, and I smiled.

 ** _I thought that after I died, I would never go down in history._**

 ** _But I saved the universe and endured my soul being tortured for five years._**

 ** _And now I finally get to enjoy peace with my loved ones for all of eternity._**


End file.
